Actions from dwardaweaMovable Type Pro 4.382013-02-06T09:46:27Zhttp://www.kcet.org/user/profile/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=feed&_type=actions&username=dwardCommented on 4 Reasons Why it's a Bad Argument to Say Cats Kill More Birds Than Wind Turbines in Rewiretag:www.kcet.org,2013:/news/rewire//1877.55680#979892013-02-06T17:46:27Zdwardawea
A comprehensive study reviewing bird fatalities at more than 100 wind farms was presented at a recent American Wind Wildlife Institute-National Wind Coordinating Collaborative research conference. That study found bird fatalities at more than 100 wind farms has found the average mortality to be 2.8 birds per megawatt (MW). With 60,000 MW of wind installed nationwide as of the end of 2012 that would result in an estimate of 168,000 fatalities annually.

While claims by others suggest bird takes by wind turbines to be as high as 440,000 annually, that figure has been called a “guesstimate” and implies a rate of 7.3 bird deaths per MW, which is nearly three times what scientific studies show.

The truth is that no matter how extensively it is developed, wind energy will always be a vanishingly small factor in human-caused bird fatalities.

David Ward, American Wind Energy Association

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Commented on Wind Group to Congress: 'Six More Years of Subsidies, Please' in Rewiretag:www.kcet.org,2012:/news/rewire//1877.54132#728822012-12-18T19:24:46Zdwardawea
Equipped with the production tax credit (PTC), the wind industry has been able to lower the cost of wind power by more than 90%, provide power to the equivalent of over 12 million American homes, and foster economic development in all 50 states.

American wind power has created tens of thousands of jobs and helped spur a manufacturing renaissance. Today nearly 500 U.S. manufacturing plants located in all regions of the country serve the industry.

All of this has been accomplished largely with an effective tax policy in the form of the production tax credit.

With the threat of the PTC’s expiration, wind project developers are not making plans in the U.S. and American manufacturers are not receiving orders. Job layoffs have started already, which could total up to 37,000 jobs lost.

Without an immediate extension of the Production Tax Credit, the wind industry is facing the recurrence of the boom-bust cycle it has seen in previous years when the PTC was allowed to expire.

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Commented on Expert: San Diego Wind Farm May Devastate Eagle Population in Rewiretag:www.kcet.org,2012:/news/rewire//1877.51551#500602012-10-31T18:21:58Zdwardawea
Aside from the wind farms dating from the 1980s in California which were developed at a time when siting practices were in their infancy and the knowledge of eagle and turbine interaction was poorly understood, wind energy is responsible for less than 2% of all documented eagle fatalities nationally.

The U.S. wind energy industry has demonstrated a willingness to work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to address higher than anticipated eagle fatalities. This includes the oldest facilities that have had historically the highest mortality rates, which are currently being “repowered” with new, larger turbines that have lower rpm and are spaced much farther apart. Eagle experts who have worked closest to the issue for decades predict that fatalities will drop by as much as 80% when repowering is completed. The wind energy industry is also working actively to avoid and reduce impacts at newly sited facilities.

The golden eagle population, both in California and nationally, is not well defined. As a result, while some data indicates that populations, in some areas, are unusually low, this is inconclusive. Further, it is unclear what the cause of this decline is, but most scientists agree that the cause is most likely persistent drought conditions throughout the southwest that affect the availability of both drinking water and prey that can support a robust eagle population.

Finally, the terminology of concern here is what all eagle biologists use, including theFish & Wildlife Service, and how developers have been directed by the Service to characterize site use by eagles.

John Anderson, Director of Siting Policy, American Wind Energy Association

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Commented on Troubling Study Indicates Wind Turbines May Cause Harm To Bat Populations in Rewiretag:www.kcet.org,2012:/news/rewire//1877.50287#445762012-09-20T14:40:13Zdwardawea
Wind power is proving to be the right decision for our economy, not only by diversifying our energy supply and stabilizing costs in our energy bills, but also attracting up to $20 billion annually in private investment for our economy.

And to make sure these benefits for outweigh the costs, the wind energy industry has established a long record of proactive, collaborative efforts on wildlife issues and seeking ways to avoid, minimize and mitigate its relatively low environmental impacts.

Since 2003, the wind industry, in partnership with Bat Conservation International, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Department of Energy, has been a part of the Bats & Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC), which conducts research to quantify the risks for bats at potential wind energy sites and finding ways to reduce fatalities at operating facilities. However, while higher than anticipated bat mortality occurs at some wind facilities, this is not universally true, and these impacts are far surpassed by the losses associated with White Nose Syndrome, which the wind industry has been an active partner in research designed to understand and combat this devastating disease.

As a clean energy source, wind energy is one of the most compatible with wildlife. Wind energy consumes no water and produces no emissions in the generation of electricity, is the least impactful form of energy production available to our society today. The benefits it provides to both wildlife and humans far outweigh its negligible impacts. No energy source— in fact, no human activity— has zero impact on the environment. Comparatively, the wind industry’s is the lowest, yet, it continually works proactively at minimizing its environmental footprint.